I love this time of the year, because it’s usually about this time that Lisa Jewell reveals a new book and I’m excited to reveal her latest book ‘Then She Was Gone’.

What the back cover says

THEN
She was fifteen, her mother’s golden girl. She had her whole life ahead of her. And then, in the blink of an eye, Ellie was gone.

NOW
It’s been ten years since Ellie disappeared, but Laurel has never given up hope of finding her daughter. And then one day a charming and charismatic stranger called Floyd walks into a café and sweeps Laurel off her feet.
Before too long she’s staying the night at this house and being introduced to his nine year old daughter. Poppy is precocious and pretty – and meeting her completely takes Laurel’s breath away.

Because Poppy is the spitting image of Ellie when she was that age. And now all those unanswered questions that have haunted Laurel come flooding back.

What happened to Ellie? Where did she go? Who still has secrets to hide?

‘Then She Was Gone’ sounds like another gripping story from one of my favourite authors.

It’s the festive season and the members of the Newbay Theatre Society, more commonly known as the NEWTS, are preparing to put on a show. Being cast as Cinderella is the realization of a dream for newcomer Kirsty, not least because she hopes starring in a panto under the direction of her boyfriend Jon will bring them closer together.But Kirsty soon learns that it’s not all glitter and good cheer behind the scenes at the amateur theatre as bitter rivalries nurtured through decades, wardrobe mishaps and suspicious near-fatal accidents threaten to derail the production. And then there’s Prince Charming himself. Will working together with Jon bring Kirsty her happy ever after… or reveal their love to be nothing but a ‘showmance’?

With the festive season upon us, there’s an influx of Christmas themed books and I’ve had the joy of reading Chrissie Manby’s latest seasonal offering, where we meet cruise line performer Kirsty and single father Ben, whose wife, Jo recently died.

We previously met Kirsty before in one of Chrissie’s earlier books called ‘A Proper Family Adventure’ where Kirsty and her best friend, Jane were on a cruise ship holiday, which should have been Jane’s honeymoon but tragically her husband died so she brought her best friend along instead. It’s on this holiday that Kirsty plucks up the courage and fulfils her dream of performing and enters a singing competition which results in her landing a job at the cruise ship.

‘A Fairy Tale For Christmas’ follows on in Kirsty’s life where she has given up on her job on the cruise ship for love, when she meets stage manager Jon, whom she fell in love with. Jon’s determined to put on the best pantomime ever when he returns home to Newbay and becomes the director of the seaside town’s production of ‘Cinderella’ where Kirsty has been cast as the leading lady.

She’s loving the opportunity to act and sing, but misses the glamour and fun of the boat and feels that there’s a shift in their relationship now that they’re no longer on water. Jon is critical of her size and constantly nit picks making her insecure of her appearance.

Meanwhile Ben, is adjusting to life as a single parent with the help of his mother Judy, they want the best for his daughter Thea, so when she auditions for ‘Cinderella’ they support her wholeheartedly. But when the opportunity for Ben arises to take part in the production as the unfortunate Buttons, Ben’s secretly delighted to thread the boards.

Both Ben and Kirsty make a delicious couple, both have huge and warm hearts and their tender and fun interactions make for sweet reading, as they get to know each other on and off the stage. Kirsty is a vibrant character, after years of trying, she’s finally achieving her dream of performing and is at her most happiest when she’s on stage. Ben is sweet and charming and is relationship with Thea really does make for poignant reading. I found Jon to be a particularly vile character, a two faced charmer that cracks jokes that are really digs at people, I found him to be a dislikable and pompous man.

Like Chrissie’s previous novels, the story is cleverly written with plenty of fun and relatable characters that makes for warm festive reading. The chapters are short and snappy so one chapter is never enough and the book can easily be consumed in one sitting!

Filled with Christmas cheer, a sweet Cinderella and a downtrodden Buttons, ‘A Fairy Tale For Christmas’ is another captivating story from one of my favourite authors.

You can pre-order A Fairytale For Christmas Amazon from and will be available to buy from good bookshops from 3rd November 2016.

‘The Stranger In My Home’ is the latest book by ‘Sunday Times’ besetselling author, Adele Parks

Alison is lucky and she knows it. She has the life she always craved, including a happy home with Jeff and their brilliant, vivacious teenage daughter, Katherine – the absolute centre of Alison’s world. Then a knock at the door ends life as they know it. Fifteen years ago, someone else took Alison’s baby from the hospital. And now Alison is facing the unthinkable. Her daughter belongs to someone else. What would you do if you discovered your beloved child is not yours?

When a copy of ‘The Stranger In My Home’ arrived in my postbox, I literally put everything down and eagerly delved into Adele’s latest book which promised to be a dark and gripping read.

The story is seen solely through the eyes of Alison, a woman who dotes over her 15 year old daughter, Katherine. She gave up her job to commit her life to her daughter and husband. Her career is the upkeep of the house whilst maintaining a perfect family and keeping her daughters life in order, running her to and from her numerous classes. Alison’s life is perfect until one day, a man turns up at the door claiming that Katherine isn’t her daughter and not only that she may also be carrying BRC1 gene. The man known as Tom claims that Katherine and the girl he thought was his daughter Olivia were swapped in the hospital when they were born and both babies were taken to the wrong homes.

Alison and Jeff’s life suddenly falls apart as the world that they created is torn apart beyond their control as Katherine is curious about her new family meanwhile Olivia isn’t interested in getting to know Alison and Jeff.

The characters in this story make for complex and insightful reading. Alison is a strong character, an overprotective mama bear, her only instinct is the welfare of her daughter. She frets and worries over Katherine, this perfect little bundle of joy who has brought so much happiness and purpose to her life, which was once so bleak and miserable. Now she has Katherine, she doesn’t need anyone else in her life, but now there is the potential that Katherine might be taken from her, Alison feels helpless and surprisingly finds herself turning to Tom for support, a charming and charismatic character, they support each other as they tentatively get to know each other much to Jeff’s upset, a person who has always been there in Alison’s hour of need. There is also an inclusion off a smaller sub story about Alison’s life whilst she was growing up and how it shaped her to become the woman she is today.

Like Adele’s previous books, the story is cleverly written in a way that keeps the reader engaged and bursting for more. With every chapter there is a new upheaval in Alison’s life as her perfect world is slipping through her fingers beyond her control. Gripping from the every beginning, Adele explores a parents worst fear, when a child is discovered as not your own, filled with drama, riddled with deceit, ‘The Stranger In My Home’ is another wonderfully tragic and atmospheric story about the complexities of morals and issues and with such an unexpected ending that will leave the reader gasping in shock, this book has been hailed as Adele’s best book to date. I loved it!

Another one of my favourite authors, Adele Parks is returning with a new book in 2017 called ‘A Stranger In My Home’.

The story of ‘The Stranger In My Home’ is –

When you have everything you dreamed of, there is everything to lose.

Alison is lucky and she knows it. She has the life she always craved, including a happy home with Jeff and their brilliant, vivacious teenage daughter, Katherine – the absolute centre of Alison’s world.

Then a knock at the door ends life as they know it.

Fifteen years ago, someone else took Alison’s baby from the hospital. And now Alison is facing the unthinkable.

Her daughter belongs to someone else.

What would you do if you discovered your beloved child is not yours?

I don’t know about you, but I think this book sounds amazing and I can’t wait to get stuck in!